RYAN'S FORECAST

Upcoming Shows You Should Check Out!

It’s a punk reggae party and I hope you are hearty

They’re one of the most well-known reggae acts ever and backed one of the most famous musicians of any classification in Bob Marley, but these aren’t exactly the same Wailers that they once were. Neither of the two surviving original Wailers (www.wailers.com), Bunny Livingston and Beverly Kelso, are with the band and in actuality, there were two separate, distinctive Wailers bands. The first were simply known as the Wailers and broke up in 1974 and included the likes of Marley,

Livingston and Peter Tosh. Marley carried on the name as Bob Marley and the Wailers, with that particular incarnation persisting today and Aston “Family Man” Barrett being the sole survivor in the current lineup. As a side note Barrett earned that nickname after fathering 52 children. That’s your history lesson for the day. The current incarnation of the Wailers will be performing at the Carolina Theatre in Greensboro on Saturday. Elan Atias, who toured with the band from 1997 to 1999, has rejoined as

the lead vocalist and his voice does bear a striking resemblance to Marley’s. The band is as true a rendition of the original as you could ever hope for and this particular tour is built around Marley’s classic album Exodus, with the entire work being performed in order. You’re probably asking, “Why would they want to build a tour based on playing Exodus from front to back? A better question is, “Why wouldn’t they?” From “Natural Mystic” to “One Love/People Get Ready,” it’s one of the greatest albums ever recorded. It clocks in at just under 40 minutes in length, so expect a lot of “Jamming” to fill out the set. Surf-roots band Tomorrows Bad Seeds (www.tomorrowsbadseeds.com) open the show, which starts at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $24.50 to $32.50 with a $1.50 restoration fee.

Famed British guitarist comes to North Carolina

To step just outside our own local sphere of influence for a moment, one of the alltime great songwriters and guitarists will be playing a few dates in North Carolina this week. British guitarist Richard Thompson (www.richardthompsonmusic.com) is playing the McGlohon Theater in Charlotte on Saturday before setting up shop at the Carrboro ArtsCenter for two nights on Sunday and Monday. Though he often performs with a stellar backing band, these shows are of the more intimate, acoustic variety, so it will be just him and his trademark black beret.

Named to the top 20 of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitar Players” in 2003, Thompson was a founding member of ’60s folk pioneers Fairport Convention and his work is admired and recorded by such artists as Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne and Elvis Costello. His prolific songwriting career has produced more than 40 albums, which are characterized as much by lyrical wit as they are masterful musicianship. Tickets range from $28.50 to $34.50 for the Charlotte show, while the two Carrboro dates are $25. All three performances start at 8:00 p.m.

Grammy-nominated singer at the Hollywood Hollow

Just on up the road a piece in Lawsonville rests a pretty good little bar called the Hollywood Hollow. I won’t go so far as to call it a honky tonk in the classic sense, but it definitely has its roots in Southern rock, country and swing music. There’s a fairly big name coming through town this weekend, especially if country music is your thing and by that I mean the kind found on CMT. National recording artist Jamey Johnson (www.jameyjohnson. com) will be performing on Saturday at the Hollywood Hollow, fresh off three nominations at the 51 st Annual Grammy Music Awards for his third album That Lonesome Song. He didn’t win any of the categories for which he was nominated, but that didn’t stop the album from making it as high as sixth on the Country Music charts in 2008, including the ninth best single “In Color.” He was, however, name the Academy of Country Music’s “Top New Male Vocalist.” Tickets for the show are $20 and the Honky Tonk Troubadours (www.myspace.com/honkytonktroubadours) will open the show.